Black Rhinoceros

The black rhinoceros (also known as the hook-lipped rhinoceros) is a large

species of rhinoceros native to Africa. Despite it's name, the black
rhinoceros is actually fairly light in colour with most black rhinoceros
individuals having either white or grey skin.
Historically, the black rhinoceros had a vast range across central and
eastern Africa in countries including Kenya, Tanzania, Cameroon, South
Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Angola. Although the black rhinoceros is
still found in these countries today, their numbers are very few and far
between.
The black rhinoceros is one of the larger rhinoceros species with the horns
of the black rhinoceros known to reach 1.5 meters in length. The black
rhinoceros uses it's horns are used for defence, intimidation, digging up
roots and breaking branches during feeding. The horns of the black
rhinoceros are made from a substance called keratin and are therefore very
strong. The horns of the black rhinoceros are used in ancient medicine and
many black rhinos have been illegally poached for them.
The black rhinoceros has relatively poor eyesight, relying more on hearing
and smell to detect what is going on around them. The ears of the black
rhinoceros possess a relatively wide rotational range to detect sounds and
an excellent sense of smell to readily alert them to the presence of
predators.
The black rhinoceros is a herbivorous animal meaning that it sustains itself
on a purely plant based diet. Black rhinos browse the densely vegetated
savanna for leaves, flowers, buds, fruits, berries and roots which they dig up
from the ground using their horns.
Due to it's large size, the black rhino's only real predator in the wild are
large wild cats such as lions that will prey on the black rhino calves and
weak individuals. Humans are the biggest threat to the black rhinoceros as
they have been hunted to the brink of extinction for their horns.
The black rhinoceros is solitary animal and only comes together with other
black rhinos to mate. The female black rhinoceros gives birth to a single calf
after a gestation period that is over a year long. The black rhinoceros calf
remains with it's mother until it is at least 2 years old and big enough to
become independent.
Today, the black rhinoceros is a critically endangered animal said to be on
the brink of extinction in the wild. There are only a handful of black

rhinoceros individuals left in the wild, but reports suggest that black
rhinoceros population numbers are now beginning to increase due to
continued conservation efforts.

Orang-utan
Orang-utan Classification and Evolution
The Orang-utan is one of the largest primates in the world and is the only
member of the Great Ape family that is found outside of Africa. There are
two species of Orang-utan found in the steamy jungles on the islands
Borneo and Sumatra which are the Bornean Orang-utan and the Sumatran
Orang-utan. The Bornean Orang-utan is more numerous and widespread
than it's cousins on Sumatra with three distinct sub-species of Bornean
Orang-utan found in differing geographic regions on the island. Orang-utans
are one of the closest living relatives to modern Humans and we in fact
share 96.4% of our DNA with these forest dwelling apes. The two species
are actually so similar in both behaviour and appearance that their
name Orang Hutan in their native Malaysian communities, literally means
"Person of the Forest". Both species of Orang-utan are today severely
affected by Human activity in their native habitats and are listed by the
IUCN on their Red List as Critically Endangered.
Orang-utan Anatomy and Appearance
The Orang-utan is a large arboreal animal which means that it spends the
majority of it's life high in the trees and therefore have evolved some very
special adaptations to make living in the forest easier. As the Orang-utan is
simply too heavy to leap like a monkey, they use their long arms to swing
on the tree branches until they can get close enough to grab onto the next

one. The hands and feet of the Orang-utan are both equally effective at
grasping onto branches and their opposable thumbs also make their nimble
digits very dexterous. The Bornean Orang-utan tends to be slightly larger in
size than the Sumatran Orang-utan, which is more lightly coloured along
with having a longer beard than it's cousin. Male Orang-utans develop fleshy
cheek pads as they mature but these are much more pronounced on the
faces of male Bornean Orang-utans, and both species also have a throat
pouch that is used to make deep calls that echo through the forest.
Orang-utan Distribution and Habitat
Although Orang-utans would have once been found on a number of the
forested, tropical islands in Indonesia, today they are confined to just two
which are the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Their tree-dwelling lifestyle
means that Orang-utans prefer dense tropical forests in the lowlands where
there is an ample and varied supply of food. Along with also being found in
hillside forests, in valleys and around peat-swamps, there are a number of
isolated populations on both islands that are found in the high mountain
jungles at much higher altitudes. The Bornean Orang-utan is found in three
remaining locations on Borneo but the Sumatran Orang-utan now only
inhabits the very northern tip of Sumatra, with the majority of wild
individuals being found in just one province. Both species however are
severely threatened by the drastic decline of their habitats which have been
deforested for timber or cleared for agriculture.

Borneo Elephant
The Borneo elephant is a sub-species of elephant which includes
the Indian elephant, the Sumatran elephant, the Sri-Lanka elephant and the
Borneo elephant. The Borneo elephant is also known as the
pygmy elephantas it is the smallest of the elephant sub-species.
As its name suggests, the Borneo elephant is found exclusively on the island
of Borneo in the Malaysian state of Sabah and parts of Indonesian
Kalimantan. Much of the Borneo elephants natural habitat has been
destroyed to make way for palm oil plantations and there are now thought
to be less than 1,000 Borneo elephant individuals left in Sabah.
The Borneo elephant has smaller ears than the African elephant and the
Borneo elephant also has a more curved spine than the African elephant.
Unlike the African elephants, the female Borneo elephants very rarely have
tusks, and if the female Borneo elephant does have tusks, they are

generally barely visible and can only be seen when the female Borneo
elephant opens her mouth.
The Borneo elephant follows strict migration routes that are determined by
the monsoon season. The eldest elephant of the Borneo elephant herd is
responsible
for
remembering
the
migration
route
of
its
Borneo elephant herd. This Borneo elephant migration generally takes place
between the wet and dry seasons and problems arose when farms where
built along the migratory routes of the Borneo elephant herds, as the
Borneo elephants caused a great deal of destruction to the newly founded
farmland.
Borneo elephants are herbivorous animals meaning that they only eat
plants and plant matter in order to gain all of the nutrients that they need to
survive. Borneo elephants eat a wide variety of vegetation including
grasses,
leaves,
shoots,
barks,
fruits,
nuts
and
seeds.
Borneo elephants often use their long trunk to assist them in gathering food.
Due to their large size, Borneo elephants have very few predators within
their
natural
environment.
Besides human hunters, tigers are
the
primary predator of the Borneo elephant, although they tend to hunt the
smaller Borneo elephant calves rather than the much larger and stronger
adults.
Female Borneo elephants are generally able to breed by the time they are
10 years old, and give birth to a single Borneo elephant calf after a 22
month gestation period. When the Borneo elephant calf is first born, it
weighs about 100 kg, and is cared for not only by it's mother by also by
other female Borneo elephants in the herd (known as aunties). The infant
Borneo elephant remains with its mother until it is around 5 years old and
gains its independence, with males often leaving the herd and female calves
staying.

Red Wolf
The red wolf is a medium sized species of wolf, found in the coastal
marshlands of southern parts of eastern North America. By the 1970s the
pure red wolf was thought to be extinct in the wild, but a population has
since been reintroduced in North Carolina that is said to now be up to 100
red wolf individuals.
The red wolf was roamed across the south-eastern United States from Texas
to Florida to New York. The red wolf's historical habitat included areas of
forest, swampland and coastal prairies where it would of been one of the
top predators. Today however, the world's red wolf population is confined to
a protected area in North Carolina.
The red wolf is generally smaller in size than the grey wolf, found in more
northern parts of North America. Red wolves are named for their cinnamon
coloured fur, which is brownish-red with dark patches on their backs. Red
wolves also have broad noses and large looking ears for the size of their
head.
In a similar way to other canines, and indeed other wolf species, the
red wolf is a very sociable animal, living in pack with a number of other
red wolf individuals. Red wolf packs usually contain a dominant male and
female and their offspring and contain between 2 and 10 members. The
red wolf is also a highly territorial animal, with the red wolf pack guarding
it's range from intrusion by other red wolf packs in the area.
Although red wolves are known to hunt together as a group in order to catch
a larger animal such as a deer, red wolves primarily eat smaller ground
dwelling animals such
as
rabbits and
rodents.
Red
wolves
also
eat birds, raccoons and other small animals. When trying to hunt a
larger animal, the red wolf pack works together to confuse and corner their
prey.
In their historical range, red wolves were considered to be one of the most
dominant predators within their environment, only coming under threat
from
larger
canines
such
as
grey
wolves
or
the
occasional coyote. Human hunters wiped out the red wolf population in
large parts of their natural range, and the population was finally thought to
become extinct primarily due to habitat loss.
Red wolves are usually able to reproduce by the time they are 2 years old
and begin mating in the warmer spring months of February and March. The

female red wolf gives birth to a litter of up to 10 cubs after a gestation

period that lasts for around 60 days. Cubs are born blind and are nursed by
the rest of the pack until they are able to hunt for themselves and either
remain with their parents or leave to start a pack of their own.

Eastern Gorilla
The eastern gorilla is one of two gorilla sub-groups found roaming in the
jungles on the African continent (the other being the western gorilla). The
eastern gorilla is less common than the western gorilla and is also the
largest primate in the world.
The eastern gorilla is found inhabiting the tropical jungles and forests of
parts of eastern and central Africa, along with lowland swamps and
secondary forests. The eastern gorilla is found in the trees in throughout the
countries of Rwanda, Uganda and eastern Congo.
There are considered to be two separate sub-species of eastern gorilla
which are the eastern lowland gorilla and the mountain gorilla. Although
only slightly different in appearance, the two eastern gorilla species differ in
their numbers with the mountain gorilla being rarer in the wild today than
the eastern lowland gorilla.
The eastern gorilla is one of the great apes, a group that includes orangutans, gorillas, humans and chimpanzees. As with the other great apes, the
eastern gorilla has a number of features which makes living in the jungle a
bit easier, including having opposable thumbs which come in handy when
the eastern gorilla is peeling fruit.
The eastern gorilla is an omnivorous animal, but the majority of it's diet is
made up of eating fruit which the eastern gorilla is known to travel vast
distances through the forests to find. The eastern gorilla also eats leaves,
nuts and berries, along with insects and occasionally small animals such as
lizards and rodents. The eastern gorilla has also been observed using basic
tools in the wild in order to more effectively gather food.
Due to it's large size, the eastern gorilla has few real predators in it's native
African forests, with large cats such as leopards and the odd crocodile being
the only real natural threat to the eastern gorilla. The biggest threat to the
eastern gorilla is habitat loss caused by deforestation and also being hunted
by humans. Parts of the eastern gorilla's territory has also been taken over

by civil unrest in recent years, which, along with poaching, has had a truly
devastating affect on wild populations.
The eastern gorilla tends to live in groups which are led and protected by
the alpha male. The alpha male eastern gorilla also mates with the females
in his group, producing generally single offspring, known as babies. The
eastern gorilla babies remain with their mother until they are a few years
old and become independent.
Today, all eastern gorillas are considered to be critically endangered species
with populations having suffered due to habitat loss and illegal poaching.
There are estimated to be around 5,000 eastern lowland gorillas, and an
even fewer 700 mountain gorilla individuals left in the wild.

Red Panda
Red Panda Classification and Evolution
The Red Panda is a cat-sized species of carnivorous mammal that is found
inhabiting the temperate mountain forests on the slopes of the Himalayas.
As their name suggests, they are related to the larger and more famous
Giant Panda (although the exact closeness of their connection still remains
uncertain to science), along with also sharing a number of characteristics
with the Raccoon and so Red Pandas are classified in a family of their own.
The Red Panda is also known by a number of different names in their native
regions including the Lesser Panda, the Red Cat-Bear and as the Fire Fox in
Nepal. Like their much larger cousin, the Red Panda relies on bamboo to
feed and with rapid deforestation of these unique areas there is less and
less for these animals to eat, which has ultimately led to the Red Panda
being listed as being an endangered species.
Red Panda Anatomy and Appearance
The Red Panda is about the same size as a large housecat, with a cat-like
face and a long, bushy tail. Their rusty coloured thick fur covers their body

with the exception of their almost white coloured ears, cheeks, muzzle and
spots above their eyes. The Red Panda also has reddish brown stripes that
run down either side of their white muzzle, along with alternating light and
dark rings on their tails. The Red Panda also has semi-retractable claws to
aid climbing and stability amongst the branches and strong, tough jaws
which they use to chew on bamboo. Like the Giant Panda, the Red Panda
also has an extended wrist bone which acts a bit like a thumb, allowing
them to hold onto bamboo whilst they are chewing it. The Red Panda also
has dense fur which helps to keep it warm during the cold winter along with
having thick and woolly fur on the soles of their feet which not only helps to
keep their feet warm but also prevents them from slipping on the wet
branches.
Red Panda Distribution and Habitat
The Red Panda is found inhabiting the temperate forests in the Himalayas at
altitudes of between 1,800 and 4,000 meters. These high mountain slopes
tend to be covered in deciduous hardwood forest with a bamboo understorey that is crucial to the Red Panda's survival. Their historical range
extended through Bhutan, Nepal, India, Myanmar and China where their
range overlaps that of the even rarer Giant Panda, but today the Red Panda
is extinct from certain areas and population numbers are rapidly declining in
others. Due to the fragile ecology of their native, mountain forests and their
reliance on eating bamboo, the Red Panda is being pushed into smaller and
more isolated pockets of their once wide range with other factors including
climate change affecting the lack of abundance of bamboo.

Malayan Tiger
The Malayan tiger is a smaller-sized subspecies of tiger, found throughout
Malaysia and parts of Thailand. The Malayan tiger is today an endangered
species but one of the more numerous wild tiger species.
The Malayan tiger is found throughout the southern and central parts of the
Malay Peninsula with its range also extending into parts of southern
Thailand. The Malayan tiger is found inhabiting the less-dense forests and
jungles where there is a higher supply of food.
The Malayan tiger is the smallest species of tiger along with the
Sumatran tiger, with average female Malayan tigers growing to around 2
meters in length. The smaller size of the Malayan tiger helps it to remain
unseen in the clearer parts of the Malaysian jungle.

The Malayan tiger was once thought to be the same as the

Indochinese tiger, a larger tiger species found in the more northern parts of
south-east Asia, and it was only recently that the two were classified as
separate subspecies.
The Malayan tiger is a dominant and carnivorous predator, hunting
it's prey by stalking it until the Malayan tiger has the opportunity to catch it
off guard. Malayan tigers primarily hunt larger mammals including deer,
wild boar, cattle and goats.
Due to the size and power of the Malayan tiger, it has no
natural predators in its native environment. Humans that hunt the
Malayan tiger and habitat loss are the only threats to the Malayan tiger.
After a gestation period of 3 to 4 months, the female Malayan tiger gives
birth to up to 5 cubs. Newborn Malayan tiger cubs weigh about 1 kg (2 lb)
and are blind and helpless. The mother feeds them milk for about 2 months
and then the Malayan tiger cubs are introduced to meat. Malayan tiger cubs
depend on their mother for the first 18 months and then they start hunting
on their own.
Today, due to habitat loss caused by deforestation, and hunting
by human poachers, the Malayan tiger is considered to be an endangered
species.
Modern
estimates
suggest
that
the
current
wild
Malayan tiger population is between 600 and 800 individuals, making it one
of the more numerous tiger species.

River Dolphin
There are only four species of river dolphin still existing in river, lakes and
estuaries in certain parts of the tropical Southern Hemisphere.
River dolphins are also known as freshwater dolphins with one species
however inhabiting saltwater estuaries known as the La Plata dolphin.
The Amazon river dolphin (Boto or Pink river dolphin) is found in the Amazon
river and the joining rivers, with the Amazon river dolphin being the largest
species
of freshwater dolphin.
The
Amazon
river dolphin feeds
on crabs, fish and catfish and is rarely hunted by animals other than
humans.
The Ganges river dolphin (Indus River Dolphin) is found in Bangladesh,
India, Nepal and Pakistan. The Ganges river dolphin is primarily found in the
Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers and their joining rivers in India, Bangladesh
and Nepal. The Ganges river dolphin has long teeth that can be seen even
when the dolphins mouth is closed.
The Chinese river dolphin (Baiji) was once found only in the Yangtze River in
China but sadly said to have become extinct in 2006.
Some river dolphins are thought to be blind, but other river dolphins still
possess incredibly poor eye sight and many are therefore killed when
accidentally coming into content with fishing boats and nets. Like other
species of dolphin, the river dolphins hunt and communicate using
echolocation, a process which involves the detection of low frequency
waves that are emitted by all the living things.
River dolphins are mainly found in darker, slow-moving waters but are
known to venture into grasslands and underwater forests during the flood
seasons. It is now, when the water is at the highest level that the baby
river dolphins are born underwater.
River dolphins have a long, narrow beak and flexible neck which helps them
to catch prey quickly and enables the river dolphins to turn quickly and
more easily in the water. River dolphins are normally found on their own or
in pairs but large groups of river dolphins will often come together to feed.

Yellow-Eyed Penguin
The yellow-eyed penguin is one of the few penguin species found north of
the Antarctic Ocean, and as it's name suggests, this species of penguin is
easily identified by it's yellow coloured eyes and bright yellow band that
runs from it's eyes round the back of the yellow-eyed penguins head.
The yellow-eyed penguin is found off the coast of the south island of New
Zealand where this species gathers in colonies along the beaches and
boulder fields. The yellow-eyed penguin is also found on a few of
the islands of the main island including Stewart, Auckland and the Campbell
Islands.
The yellow-eyed penguin generally searches for food up 10 miles offshore,
and travels (on average) around 15 miles away from the colonies nesting
site. The yellow-eyed penguin leaves the colony at dawn and returns the
same evening during chick rearing, although may spend 2-3 days at sea at
other times.
The yellow-eyed penguin is one of the larger species of penguin with adult
individuals reaching 75cm in height, with the males generally being slightly
larger than the female yellow-eyed penguins. The yellow-eyed penguin was
thought to have been closely related to the tiny little penguin found in a
similar area, although recent research suggests that the two are actually
fairly genetically different.
The
yellow-eyed penguin is
a
carnivorous animal,
that
like
all
other penguin species, survives on a diet that is only comprised of
marine animals. Krill and small crustaceans make up the bulk of the yelloweyed penguin's diet along with larger organisms including squid and various
species of fish.
The yellow-eyed penguin is usually found nesting in the forests and scrub
that line the New Zealand coast and although historically undisturbed, the
yellow-eyed penguin now
has
a
number
of
landdwelling predators including cats, dogs and
foxes
along
with rats and
weasels that hunt their eggs.
On average, the yellow-eyed penguin breeds once a year, forming pairs that
usually remain faithful to one another. The female yellow-eyed penguin lays
two eggs in her nest in the forest which are incubated by both parents for
up to a couple of months, when only one of the eggs will usually hatch. The

yellow-eyed penguin chicks are fed and kept warm by their parents and
remain with them until the chicks are nearly a year old.
Today, the yellow-eyed penguin listed as an endangered animal with an
estimated wild population of less than 4,000 individuals. It is now the
rarest penguin in the world due to deforestation and the introduction of
mammalian predators.

Galapagos Tortoise
The Galapagos tortoise (giant Galapagos tortoise) was first documented by
Charles Darwin last century when he went on his trip to the Galapagos
islands.
The Galapagos Tortoise is the biggest species of tortoise in the modern
world with some Galapagos tortoises reaching more than 4ft long! The
Galapagos tortoise is also one the longest living species of tortoise with a
number of Galapagos tortoises getting older than 150!
The Galapagos tortoise, like most other species of tortoise, is
a herbivore spending its time grazing on grass and low trees. Today only 10
out of the 12 Galapagos tortoise species still exist on the Pacific islands due
to the introduction of goats a few hundred years ago.
The domestic goat, stripped the islands of their good foliage meaning that
the Galapagos tortoise found it hard to find food. Today the
Galapagos tortoise is most well known for their long necks, which make
them look slightly like a dinosaur!
The Galapagos tortoise is a very quiet, peaceful and lazy animal with the
Galapagos tortoise waking up early in the morning to bask in the sun until

the enormous body of the Galapagos tortoise has warmed up. The
Galapagos tortoise then spends the rest of its day foraging for food before
retiring back to bed in the early hours of the evening where the
Galapagos tortoise spends the night in shrub land or submerged in water.
The
Galapagos tortoise is
a
very
slow
moving animal with
the
Galapagos tortoise having a top speed of less than 1 mile an hour! During
the mating season however, the male Galapagos tortoises have been known
to
move
at
a
surprising
speed
with
marked
individual
Galapagos tortoises having been known to travel 13 km in just two days, a
phenomenal feet for the sheer size of the Galapagos tortoise.
Like other species of tortoise, the Galapagos tortoise is able to pull its head
and legs into its shell to protect itself when the Galapagos tortoise feels
under threat from potential predators. The scaly skin on the exposed legs
and head of the Galapagos tortoise also acts a layer of armor to protect the
Galapagos tortoise from
incurring
any
damage
when
the
Galapagos tortoise is moving around.

Endangered Animals

Endangered means to be under threat or near extinction. When a

species/animal is endangered it means that they are disappearing
fast or have a very small population - not large enough to survive.

End
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